Getting in a collision is stressful enough. Between the stress (both mental and physical) and worry, there is also in the back of your mind the problem of your no fault insurance provider. There you are, standing on the side of the road, relieved that you’re still alive, and now you’re faced with a mess of bureaucratic tangles as you and the other party try to resolve everything amicably.
Now, in the strictest sense, a run of the mill accident does not require a police report or police intervention. But there are certain exceptions where it is absolutely necessary for you to file a report for you and your insurance companies. They are as follows:
1) Hit and Run
When you get in a fender bender with a random stranger, the odds are good that you can just exchange insurance information and be done with it. But what happens when that person flees? You’ll want to file a report in the first place so that you’re not stuck with the charges. But even if you don’t want to file a report, you still have to. Leaving the scene of an accident is a crime punishable by jail time and, though you would have rather avoided it, you’re now involved in a violation of the law.
2) Serious Accidents
A ding in the parking lot is one thing, but a massive head-on wreck, or any serious, damaging accident, absolutely requires a police report, on top of more money for higher auto insurance premiums. After all, your insurance company is looking at a massive payout in one form or another. Whether they have to pay medical damages for you or another driver is one thing. At the very least they will probably have to give you the cash value for your totaled vehicle. But money is one thing and human life is quite another. The police should always be involved in a serious wreck and, as a rule, they are.
3) Injuries
This goes right along with the serious accident exception and, sadly, the two often go hand in hand. Injuries are always a bad thing but, to insurance companies, they’re bad for a different reason. It isn’t human pain or death that motivates their fear, but the possibility of a massive medical reimbursement. Maybe even a wrongful death suit.